Fellow Listers, The 2010 Winter Solstice will occur on Tuesday 21st December 21, at 11:38 pm GMT or UTC Therefore, the Winter Solstice is today Tuesday, 21st December 2010 at 11:38 PM in Scotland. The Summer Solstice is on Wednesday, 22 December 2010 at 9:38 AM here in Queensland. The seasonal significance of the winter solstice is in the reversal of the gradual lengthening of nights and shortening of days with the reverse being so for the Southern Hemisphere. Also tonight in some places there is a total lunar eclipse, a rare event for the winter solstice. The last winter solstice total lunar eclipse was in 1638 and the next one won't be until 2094. The eclipse, caused by the moon going into the Earth's shadow, will begin at about 12:32 a.m. Tuesday in the Midwest, 1:32 a.m. on the East Coast, and 10:32 p.m. Monday on the West Coast of the North American Continent. Sam Heron